1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new and useful wet-dry vacuum apparatus for continuously picking up liquid and conveying it into a tank and for simultaneously removing the liquid from the tank when necessary. As a result of the invention, liquid can be readily removed from an area, such as the surface of a floor, sucked into the tank, and discharged therefrom by a pump means to a remote location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Removal of liquid from a surface area, such as a floor or other flat surface, to an area remote from the wetted area is known to be a difficult and time consuming operation. One of the most common means of removing water from a surface is, or course, hand mopping. This procedure is however both time consuming and burdensome. Additionally, it is extremely difficult quickly to remove a considerable amount of water on a surface to prevent that water from damaging any covering, such as floor tile, or to prevent that water from seeping through the floor if made of wood.
Sump pumps have also been used to remove large quantities of water. Although these pumps remove the water immediately as it is picked up they are at times unsatisfactory since they generally only remove water from the immediate area in which they are located. They are not readily movable to pick up smaller quantities of water from different yet closely located areas. Also, power operated devices such as conventional wet-dry vacuum cleaners can pick up and store liquids. However, when the storage tank for those vacuum cleaners is full, the entire tank, which may be very heavy because of the weight of water therein, must be moved to a location, such as a drain, where the water can be poured or drained from the tank. These repeated moving and dumping operations for conventional wet-dry vacuum cleaners are also burdensome and time consuming.